Itongadol.- Israel is a beacon of democracy that protects Europe and the entire world from the dangers of Iran, ISIS and a radicalized Middle East, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting Romanian President Werner Iohannis on Monday.
“When you look at the Middle East there isn’t one country, a beacon of freedom, of democracy, of human rights, that protects not only itself, but by so doing protects everyone else, including Europe.
“It is this basic understanding that we want to impart to our European friendship,” Netanyahu said.
The two men made brief statements to the press at the start of their meeting in Netanyahu’s Jerusalem office.
The prime minister told Iohannis that he appreciated Romania’s long standing support for Israel and its strong stand against anti-Semitism.
This is particularly important at a time when the Jewish people and the state of Israel is persistently slandered.
Israel “is being accused of, falsely accused of so many things,” Netanyahu said.
He noted that Women’s Rights Day Israel would be attacked for its treatment of women by states that enslave its female citizens.
Israel, in contrast, “gives freedom, full equal rights, not only to women minorities, gays everyone. So there is an era of absurdity about [these accusations],” Netanyahu said.
In an allusion to the Holocaust, he said, “We have seen in the previous century that absurd slander can become horrible tragedies.
“In that sense the stance of Romania against anti-Semitism and also with Israel in European and International forums is much appreciated,” Netanyahu said.
Iohannis, and his wife Carmen arrived in Israel on Sunday for a six day visit. Iohannis has already met with Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin. He will also visit the Knesset and meet with its speaker Yuli Edelstein and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Romanian president will also go to the Western Wall, the Dead Sea and Masada.
A strong friendship has historically existed between the two countries.
Romania is among those countries that recognized Israel upon its creation in 1948.